


Everything I Didn’t Know I Wanted For Christmas

by la_muerta



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Christmas Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Malec with kids, Meet-Cute, Single Parent Alec Lightwood, Single Parent Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-23 12:24:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17080286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_muerta/pseuds/la_muerta
Summary: Alec got his Christmas shopping done months ago - but he should have known that Jace would mess it all up for him. Now he's out braving the crowds on Christmas Eve trying to find a toy that's sold out everywhere for his son, and as it turns out, he's not the only desperate single father out there who will stop at nothing to get his hands on that last toy in the shops.





	Everything I Didn’t Know I Wanted For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wolfspirals (gracefulally)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracefulally/gifts).



 

 

"I can't believe you stole your own nephew's Christmas present!" Alec hissed at Jace, shoving him hard enough that he lost his balance and bumped into the fridge. 

"Woah, chill, man," Jace said, both hands held up in surrender. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The hell you don't! That present sitting right on the top of the stack is Henry's Christmas present! I wrapped it up myself!" Alec fumed.  

"I could have bought the same wrapping paper, and wrapped it up really terribly on my own," Jace said defensively.  

"You also left the card I wrote for Henry stuck to the wrapper," Alec said flatly. 

"Oh fuck!" Jace's eyes widened, trying to manoeuvre around Alec to go back out into the living room. "I have to go get that before Willie starts opening the presents!" 

Alec moved to block his way, glowering at his brother. 

"Ok, fine! I'm sorry, ok?" Jace said, running a hand through his too-long hair in frustration. "It's just, you know, life has been a bit of a mess around here, with the new baby coming and Willie being more of a brat than usual. I promised Clary I'd handle this whole birthday party and present thing so she wouldn't tire herself out, but I wasn't expecting it to be so much work!"

"Izzy helped you plan this party," Alec pointed out stonily. "If you were too busy to go out to the shops to get Will a present, you could have ordered it online, or just asked one of us to get it for you. Not come over to my place with the spare key I gave you for emergencies and steal the fucking present out of my closet!"

"I was desperate, ok? I only remembered yesterday, and all the nearest shops said they were all sold out. I couldn't let Willie down, and Clary wouldn't have gotten mad, you know, she'd have been _disappointed_ , which is even worse. I knew you'd have bought it for Henry months in advance," Jace said, trying to turn pleading eyes on Alec. "Look, they'll probably still have stock at Roosevelt Field, since that's the biggest mall around here. You could leave Henry here tonight for a sleepover, pop over there in the morning tomorrow, and still be in time to meet us for the Christmas Parade in the afternoon."

Alec sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate you."

"I owe you one, ok?" Jace said, tension leaving his shoulders now that he knew Alec was probably going to give in. "Now let me just go out there-"

"I've already removed the card. It's in my pocket," Alec said wryly. 

Jace heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man. I knew you've always got my back."

"No, fuck you - I was looking out for  _Will_ ," Alec muttered.

"What are you two doing hiding in the kitchen?" Izzy suddenly said from the doorway, eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"Nothing. Guy stuff," Jace said quickly. 

Izzy rolled her eyes. "I think we're a bit too old for the 'No Girls Allowed' club. Come on, Will's going to start on his presents!"

Alec sighed and followed his siblings out into the living room, already mentally trying to calculate travel times in Christmas Eve traffic and around roadblocks because of the parade. He'd like to think that Henry was well-adjusted enough that the kid would be ok even if he didn't get that particular toy for Christmas, but every boy around Henry's age was probably getting an action figure of the superhero Silver Shot for Christmas this year, and Alec hated the thought of Henry feeling left out. Besides, Henry's smiles on Christmas morning was one of the few things Alec really looked forward to.

Technically, Henry was his godson. Henry's biological parents, John and Lydia Monteverde, had been Alec's best friends in college. When Henry was barely over a year old, his parents had been killed by a drunk driver in a tragic accident, and Alec found out that they had named him as Henry's legal guardian, since they had no other living relatives they were close to. So at the age of 23, Alec had become a single parent. Even with all the Lightwoods chipping in and a more flexible work schedule courtesy of working in the family business, the last four years hadn't been easy. Alec had been the one changing diapers, holding Henry's hand when he'd been taking those first few baby steps, nursing him through cuts and bumps and fevers and colds, reading him bedtime stories, and hugging him close after nightmares and during thunderstorms. And when Henry was learning to talk, Izzy had taught him to call Alec 'Daddy' - and that was that.

Alec tried not to grind his teeth when Jace's son opened the present _he'd_ bought months ago for Henry, and clenched his jaw when Will threw a tantrum and wouldn't allow Henry to even take a closer look at the action figure.

"Hey. You alright?" he asked his son, drawing him to a quiet corner after all the presents had been opened. "Uncle Jace said you could sleep over if you wanted, but we could go home instead."

Henry shrugged. "It's ok. I know Will wasn't being mean on purpose. Aunt Izzy said it's because he's worried about the new baby coming, that Uncle Jace and Aunt Clary will love him less, which is dumb because it doesn't work that way." 

"You've got it all figured out, huh?" Alec said, trying to hide his grin. 

Henry nodded solemnly. "Yeah, plus the special extra-long Silver Shot show is on tomorrow morning, and I wanna watch it with Will. It's going to be so cool! I think Silver Shot is going to find out who The Shaman is!"

"The Shaman is the bad guy, right?" Alec asked, having only the vaguest idea what the cartoon was about.

"Only sometimes. But he's also actually Silver Shot's boyfriend. You know, when they're not in their costumes."

Alec blinked. "His what?"

"His boyfriend," Henry repeated patiently. "Silver Shot kisses other boys - like you, Daddy. Can I go tell Will that I'm staying over tonight?"  

"Yeah, ok," Alec replied, still slightly flummoxed. A gay superhero on mainstream media? Who would've thought?  

Then he registered the rest of what Henry had said, and realised that Henry must have been up awake past his bedtime with Will, watching from Jace's house across the street on the rare occasions that Alec had actually been out on dates and the even rarer occasions when he had invited his date home for... "coffee".  

"...Crap."

Magnus reflected that not that long ago, he'd probably have been nursing a hangover on the morning of Christmas Eve, preparing to go out and drink some more that night. _That_ Magnus would never have imagined getting up at eight in the morning to cook waffles and scrambled eggs while his son sat with eyes glued to the screen watching some cartoon where a guy in a silver half-mask was fighting someone who was throwing fireballs from his hands. But some changes in life were for the better, and Magnus didn't regret a thing - not the sleepless nights he'd spent rocking and singing to a colicky baby, not the expensive silk shirts Rafael had ruined with spit-up, not the ugly rubber bumpers he'd had to fix to the corners of all his lovely teak furniture when his son had started toddling around. In fact, he didn't even regret the two years he'd spent married to Camille. 

He'd caught her having an affair with her colleague and filed for divorce before Rafael turned two, citing irreconcilable differences and demanding full custody of Rafael, which Camille had been only too happy to give up. She still visited Rafael at least twice a year though - once on his birthday, and once on Christmas Eve. 

Just as Magnus was placing the plates and cups on a tray, as if thinking about her had somehow summoned her, someone jabbed the doorbell several times in rapid succession. Magnus rolled his eyes and put the tray on the coffee table.

"Eat, Rafe. I know you hate your eggs cold," he told his son, then went to get the door. 

Camille was standing outside the door of his penthouse apartment, dressed to the nines, with a parcel clutched to her chest and an expression of impatient disdain on her face. She pushed him out of the way, heels clicking sharply on the hardwood floor as she walked towards the living room.  

"You're early," Magnus observed. Unlike him, Camille hadn't changed her habits much over the years - he didn't think she usually got up before noon. 

"Louis is taking me on a luxury cruise down the East River," she replied. 

"Because sailing down a river of stinky, polluted water is the very height of romance, I'm sure," Magnus said snidely.

Camille shot him a nasty look over her shoulder, gaze flicking to his appropriately festive apron, which had a picture of a candy cane and the words 'It's not going to lick itself' printed on it. "Yes, you always were a great romantic. Too bad the only hot dates you've been getting these days have been with your right hand."

"Nonsense. I occasionally date my left hand instead. Sometimes both, at the same time," Magnus said cheerfully. 

Camille snorted inelegantly, then crouched down to hug Rafael and plant a kiss on his cheek. "Merry Christmas, sweetie!" 

"Hi Mama. Merry Christmas," Rafael replied a little distractedly, wiping lipstick off his cheek with the sleeve of his pajamas. 

Camille pushed the parcel into his arms. "Open it!" 

"Um, ok," Rafael said, tearing his eyes away from the screen with effort to peel open the wrapping. She'd given him a toy puppy with body parts labelled in large black lettering - ear, hand, tummy, foot. There was a heart-shaped button in its chest, and when pressed, it lit up and played the ABC song. 

"Yes, perfect - if Rafe was five months old, instead of five years old," Magnus said, and Camille glared at him. 

"Um, it's ok. I love it. Thanks, Mama," Rafe said quickly, giving her a hug and a small smile before turning back to the screen. 

Camille stood up slowly, then flashed a smile at Magnus that was all teeth. "May I use your bathroom?" 

Magnus swept his arm in a grand gesture. "Be my guest," he said, frowning as she stalked down the hallway towards the bedrooms.

He was just about to follow her to make sure that she was going into the common bathroom, when Rafael said very softly, "Papa, my eggs have gone cold. Could you...?"

"Of course," Magnus said, whisking the plate off to the kitchen to give the eggs another quick stir in the pan. 

He was just setting the plate down in front of Rafael when he thought he heard the sound of a window being opened. Walking quickly towards his bedroom, he was just in time to see Camille flinging the present he'd bought for Rafael out of the window - seven storeys down, straight into the busy morning traffic. 

"What the  _fuck_  did you do that for?" he snarled in a low voice. 

"Oops. Guess Papa doesn't even have a present for his darling little boy - how disappointing," she replied sweetly, before sauntering out of the room. 

Magnus had to take a few deep breaths before he'd calmed down enough to kick Camille out of his house as civilly as he could manage in front of their son. He'd bought that Silver Shot action figure a month ago, and even then he'd had to try a few places before he'd managed to get his hands on one. Rafe was a sweet kid and wouldn't mind receiving something else, but for this to happen because of fucking  _Camille..._

Checking to make sure that Rafael's attention was still on the television and he wouldn't overhear the conversation, Magnus grabbed his phone and hit Ragnor's number on the speed-dial. 

"Ragnor, I need you to do me a favour - could you and Raphael watch Rafe for a while? I've got some emergency Christmas shopping to do."

The Christmas Parade was at three in the afternoon, so Alec was at the mall by 10am, figuring that it would give him ample time to buy the toy, get it wrapped, and maybe run some errands if he had the time. He'd expected parking to be a nightmare and insane crowds at the malls - but he hadn't expected to walk into the toy store and find the shelves for the Silver Shot toys completely empty. There wasn't a scrap of merchandise left, not even an overpriced water bottle, much less an action figure of Silver Shot.

"Erm, excuse me..." he said, trying to get the attention of a harried store worker. "What happened to all the Silver Shot stuff?"

The guy frowned at him. "Whaddya think? All sold out of course!" 

" _Everything_? Isn't there even like stationery, or a lunchbox?" 

"Yes,  _everything_ ," the guy snapped. "Sold out a week ago."

"Could you please check the back room? Maybe something fell behind a shelf?" Alec asked a little desperately. "I just need to get something for my son -  _anything_."

"Look, buddy-" the irrate store worker began to say. 

"Hi, sorry - I couldn't help overhearing the conversation, and I'm looking for something for my son as well," someone interrupted them smoothly.

Alec half-turned and froze - the speaker was a very handsome man wearing a well-fitted grey topcoat that showed off broad shoulders and biceps to die for. Alec tried not to stare. 

"I know you're busy, but it would really make the day of two kids - and two very desperate fathers," he continued, looking over at Alec with his beautiful brown eyes to include him in the conversation - and fuck, it was just Alec's luck that this guy was probably happily married.

"I'm sure with how well-organised this place is, a quick check of the system will show if there's supposed to be anything in stock, but that was misplaced. That's all we're asking for," he said, but the store worker just frowned. "We'll be sure to call up the store and tell them how you went above and beyond in your service - Raj," the guy added, after a quick glance at his name tag. 

The store worker heaved a loud sigh and stomped over to the nearest register and typed in the search terms. Alec sneaked a peek at the other father's left hand resting on the countertop - he was wearing a couple of rings, but his ring finger was bare, though that didn't necessarily mean that he was single.

Their not-so-friendly service staff, Raj, shook his head. "Nope, not even a pencil."

"How about the other one? The Shaman?" Alec asked.  

Raj let out a short bark of laughter. "Where have you been? The Shaman is just as popular, plus with that Christmas special this morning - I promise you, everything is gone," he said, but humoured them and typed in a new search, then hit 'enter' and frowned. "Wait - there's one Shaman action figure left. But it's reserved." 

"So they'll be coming here to get it today?" Alec asked. He supposed he could try his luck and hang around to wait for the person who'd reserved the toy and see if he could convince them to sell it to him instead. 

"I suppose so. Collection of reserved stuff is at the main counter at level one."

"And there's just one?" the other father asked, and Alec saw the mischievous gleam in his eye a split second before the guy turned and dashed towards the escalators. 

"Hey! Remember that call you promised, my Christmas bonus is depending on it!" Raj called out after them, but Alec was already hot on the heels of the other guy, dodging shoppers left and right and mumbling apologies. 

For once, Alec was thankful for all the times Jace had dragged him to the gym, but the other guy was pretty fit as well, nimbly slipping between people on the narrow escalator faster than Alec would have expected from a guy that broad. He glanced over his shoulder, searching for Alec when he reached the bottom of the escalator, and flashed Alec a grin when he saw that Alec still stuck at the top, before making a beeline for the next escalator. By the time Alec reached the front counter two floors down, he was only in time to catch the tail end of the conversation - the other guy asking the counter staff, "What was she wearing?"

"Uh, a red parka," the flustered girl replied. 

Alec scanned the crowd quickly, using his height to his advantage, and spotted a woman in a red coat carrying a shopping bag that was about the right size, heading for the exit. He ran after her and caught up with her just outside, tapping her on the shoulder. 

"Hey, sorry, I really need to talk to you," he said, panting from the unexpected exercise. 

She turned around in surprise, then smiled at him. "Hi!" she said in a flirty tone, very blatantly checking him out, and Alec's only excuse was that he panicked.

"I'm gay, I just wanted to ask if you would sell me the Shaman toy," he blurted out.

Her face turned stormy immediately. "Fuck off," she snapped, and stomped off.

Alec heard a snort of laughter behind him, and turned to find the other guy leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath as well.

"Are you always that straightforward?" he asked, then laughed again when Alec shrugged helplessly. He stuck out a hand. "I'm Magnus."

"Alec," Alec replied, shaking the proffered hand. 

"Well, I hope your better half isn't going to hold it against you," Magnus said. 

"Um, there's no better half. It's just me and the kid," Alec said. 

"Ah, that's tough. As a single parent myself, I understand completely," Magnus said. 

"Yeah. Guess we'll just have to think of something else to get for our kids," Alec said gloomily.  

Magnus groaned. "God, I think I need a martini - or two - before I can even start to think about that," he said, then looked up at Alec slightly coyly. "Care to join me?"  

"At 11.30 in the morning?" Alec asked. 

"It's always happy hour somewhere," Magnus said airily.

Alec huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, what the hell, why not?" 

"You see, it wasn't even my fault. And it wasn't your fault, either. We've just got the worst luck," Alec complained, taking another gulp of his beer. "But it still feels like we're the ones who let our kids down."

"It does," Magnus agreed. "Even though Rafael wouldn't say anything. He'd be disappointed, but he's not the type to throw a tantrum about things like that." 

"Yeah, Henry wouldn't, either," Alec said morosely. 

"Sounds like we're doing something right, then," Magnus said with a smile. 

Alec let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I hope so."  

"I guess that makes my sad date-less social life worth it," Magnus said musingly. 

"Seriously? You, too?" Alec asked in surprise. "I mean... You're  _you_."

Magnus laughed lightly. "I could say the same for you," he told Alec with a wink, and was amused when a slight colour rose in Alec's cheeks. 

Alec cleared his throat and checked his watch. "Crap. It's already one o'clock, and we still need to get presents." 

"I suppose we can't go wrong with a nice book?" Magnus suggested, half trying to convince himself. 

The bartender had put the radio on for some Christmasy tunes, and just as Magnus was trying to catch his attention to call for the bill, an announcement came on the radio. 

_"Thanks for tuning in to Power NY FM, and pssst, we've got a little surprise for our listeners! Come on down to our booth at the Christmas Parade this afternoon, answer one simple question, and you could stand to win a limited-edition Silver Shot figurine!"_

Magnus exchanged a look with Alec and quickly threw down a handful of bills. Alec grabbed both their coats off the back of their chairs and held Magnus' out for him. 

"Keep the change, Merry Christmas!" Magnus called out to the bartender as he slipped into his coat, and both of them hurried out into the cold.  

It had made more sense for them to share one car, so they'd taken Alec's practical Honda instead of Magnus' flashy Jaguar, but with all the roadblocks and Christmas Eve traffic, they honestly might have had better luck just jogging there. They reached the booth set up by the radio station with only half an hour to spare before the start of the parade, but when they finally reached the head of the queue, they were in for more disappointment - the radio contest was just for a lucky draw. It would be weeks before the winners were announced.

"Looks like we might have to do our shopping after the parade," Magnus sighed, checking his phone. "My friends were helping me watch Rafael this morning, and I need to go find them."

"Yeah, Henry is with my siblings and their families. I need to go find them too," Alec admitted, skimming through the messages from Jace and Izzy. He really had to go, they were already waiting for him, but he didn't want to leave just yet. 

"Do you want to continue our shopping together later?" he blurted out. 

"Yes, of course," Magnus replied quickly. "I would love that."

Alec was just about to suggest that they exchange numbers when someone grabbed both of them by their arms. 

"Oh thank god, I thought you guys weren't going to show!" she exclaimed, pulling them towards a tent marked 'staff only'. 

"What? What's going on?" Alec asked. Magnus looked just as confused. 

"You're the actors playing Silver Shot and The Shaman, right?" she asked impatiently, and Alec noticed that she had a pass hanging from a lanyard around her neck that said 'parade manager'. 

"No!" Alec yelped. 

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry!" the flustered parade manager gasped, letting go of them. "It's just that we've got ten minutes before the parade starts, and the guys who were supposed to dress up as Silver Shot and The Shaman for the parade never showed up. I thought it was you two - you kind of look perfect for the parts."

"No, we're not actors. But what happens if the actual actors don't turn up?" Magnus asked. 

"Well, there're going to be lots of disappointed kids for sure," she replied, running a hand through her hair in frustration. 

"What would we have to do? Just stand on the parade float and wave?" Magnus asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." 

"I think we could do it - don't you agree, Alexander?" Magnus said brightly. 

Alec's eyes widened in horror. "Wait-" 

"Really?! Oh my god, you're lifesavers! I'll be sure to get one of those special-edition action figures for the both of you as a thank you," she gushed. 

"That would be perfect!  _You're_ our lifesaver," Magnus said, beaming, then turned to Alec. "Were you about to say something?" 

"No, it's nothing," Alec said, licking his lips nervously. "Let's do this."

Magnus had to say that he looked pretty good in The Shaman's costume: dark red flowy pants embroidered with gold thread and heavy with beads, a matching crop top and armbands, and a burnished gold cloak that billowed behind him in a way that satisfied the 8-year-old in him. There was a feathered and beaded half-mask as well, but he left that off for now, and went round the privacy curtain to find Alec fidgeting with his costume: skin-tight militaristic black clothes that clung in all the right places, silver cuffs on his wrists, fingerless gloves, and a silver half-mask. Alec glanced up, his gaze lingering on Magnus' exposed abs and bare arms, and swallowed hard. 

"You're going to catch a cold in that," he said a little gruffly. 

"It's only for half an hour, I'll be fine," Magnus assured him. "Are you ok?" 

"Yeah, it's just... I've never worn so much spandex in my life," Alec grumbled, then dropped his head and groaned. "I can't believe I agreed to do this."

Magnus laughed and adjusted Alec's mask for him. "You look fine. More than fine." 

Alec blushed charmingly, but before he could reply, there was a knock on the door.

"Everything alright in there?" the parade manager called out, sounding a little panicky. Alec went to open the door for her, and Magnus put on his mask.

They were whisked away to the parade float and briefed on what to expect, and before they knew it, they were standing on the float waving at the crowds and trying their best to look the part. Magnus scanned the crowd, trying to spot Rafael with Ragnor and Raphael, but all he saw was a blur of excited children and adults. 

The float came to a stop in front of the ice skating ring at Rockefeller Plaza, which was the midpoint of the parade, and the theme song from the cartoon began to play over the speakers. They were supposed to do a short skit here, pretending to fight each other; Magnus got into the swing of things immediately, pretending to throw fireballs from his hands, but it was hard keeping a straight face with how earnest Alec looked trying to stay in character while firing imaginary arrows from his plastic silver bow and dodging Magnus' attacks. 

At the end of the skit, Magnus and Alec moved to the front of the float and held hands, to show that Silver Shot and The Shaman had made up. And when the music stopped, Magnus heard a loud cry - "That's Papa!" 

He turned and finally spotted Rafael, who was sitting on the shoulders of his namesake, Magnus' adopted brother. He blew a kiss at his delighted son, and noticed that a little blond boy sitting on the shoulders of a bespectacled guy standing just next to Raphael was also grinning from ear-to-ear, waving madly and shouting, "Daddy! My Daddy is Silver Shot!" 

"Is that Henry?" he asked Alec, and Alec nodded, waving and grinning at his son. 

As they stood there laughing and waving at their surprised families, a chant started up in the crowd, mostly from the teenagers and adults: "Kiss! Kiss!" 

Alec looked a little wild-eyed, but he licked his own lips self-consciously and Magnus saw his eyes dart lower to Magnus' lips. 

"It's Christmas, after all. We should give the crowd what they want - that is, if you don't mind," Magnus murmured, stepping a little closer. 

"Yeah, we should," Alec agreed. He ducked his head and kissed Magnus gently, to a resounding roar of approval from the crowd. 

"I know we don't need to do any more Christmas shopping after this, but I'm gonna be needing your number," Alec told Magnus, his arms still resting lightly around Magnus' waist, and Magnus laughed.

"I have a feeling it's going to be a very Merry Christmas for the both of us," Magnus joked.

Alec grinned. "Merry Christmas, Magnus."

"Merry Christmas, Alexander."

 

 

 

 


End file.
